Gold originally described the injury as "devastating" amid fears that Heathcote, who has suffered from knee injuries in the past, was set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. But the prognosis that he faces six weeks out will come as a relief to the Bath hierarchy, although it will disrupt their early season preparations.

Bath currently have Rob Webber, Josh Ovens, Ryan Caldwell, David Wilson, Simon Taylor, Ben Williams and World Cup winner Stephen Donald sidelined with various knocks but despite having Donald and Heathcote out injured, Gold is still confident in the strength in depth he has at his disposal.

"We've still got a few of the squad out with various knocks picked up over the last couple of weeks, and it looks like Tom will be out for around six weeks with the knee injury he picked up against London Welsh last week," Gold said. "It's disappointing for him and for us, but we have Sam Vesty, Olly Barkley and Ollie Devoto fit and all very capable of playing fly-half when needed."

Vesty will start at fly-half against the Ospreys on Saturday with Michael Claassens skippering the side.